Question: Is anyone else watching what Netflix is doing with the rights to all of Dahl?

[MattScho]

They're posting stuff every couple of days right now. What they're posting are based on short stories, and they've been between 17 and 35 minutes long. The casting is amazing (Patel, Cumberbatch, Fiennes, Kingsley, etc) but they would be because Wes Anderson seems to be making them all (as you can tell at a single glance).
But more importantly, to us, I think, is the way Anderson is putting Dahl's written words on screen. He's showing the actors telling us the story.
It's not show or tell, it's both.
It's fascinating because these are his short stories, which are 1. amazing and 2 very much not at all for kids and often quite naughty.
I'm enjoying these, having watched the first 3, not the other two now up.
I am left wondering if this isn't a sign of a rebirth of the power and commercial appeal of the short story, because it's working, and short-stories stopped paying living wages not long after the end of the days of Harold Ross at the New Yorker.
Anyone else watching and thinking about these?

 

[Mel L]

They're posting stuff every couple of days right now. What they're posting are based on short stories, and they've been between 17 and 35 minutes long. The casting is amazing (Patel, Cumberbatch, Fiennes, Kingsley, etc) but they would be because Wes Anderson seems to be making them all (as you can tell at a single glance).
But more importantly, to us, I think, is the way Anderson is putting Dahl's written words on screen. He's showing the actors telling us the story.
It's not show or tell, it's both.
It's fascinating because these are his short stories, which are 1. amazing and 2 very much not at all for kids and often quite naughty.
I'm enjoying these, having watched the first 3, not the other two now up.
I am left wondering if this isn't a sign of a rebirth of the power and commercial appeal of the short story, because it's working, and short-stories stopped paying living wages not long after the end of the days of Harold Ross at the New Yorker.
Anyone else watching and thinking about these?

Have not watched but will check them out. Anderson is genius and that casting sounds amazing.
Short-form everything seems to be having a moment right now. The Twitterization of our attention spans? Perhaps it bodes well for a return of the short story.

 

[Claire G]

Have not watched but will check them out. Anderson is genius and that casting sounds amazing.
Short-form everything seems to be having a moment right now. The Twitterization of our attention spans? Perhaps it bodes well for a return of the short story.

I don't have Netflix but I agree that short stories seem to be making a comeback. I don't usually read them but my current book is a collection and I'm enjoying being able to read a full story in one session.

 

[Pamela Jo]

They're posting stuff every couple of days right now. What they're posting are based on short stories, and they've been between 17 and 35 minutes long. The casting is amazing (Patel, Cumberbatch, Fiennes, Kingsley, etc) but they would be because Wes Anderson seems to be making them all (as you can tell at a single glance).
But more importantly, to us, I think, is the way Anderson is putting Dahl's written words on screen. He's showing the actors telling us the story.
It's not show or tell, it's both.
It's fascinating because these are his short stories, which are 1. amazing and 2 very much not at all for kids and often quite naughty.
I'm enjoying these, having watched the first 3, not the other two now up.
I am left wondering if this isn't a sign of a rebirth of the power and commercial appeal of the short story, because it's working, and short-stories stopped paying living wages not long after the end of the days of Harold Ross at the New Yorker.
Anyone else watching and thinking about these?

I saw the promo on Netflix and confess my first thought was WTF? Wes Anderson is that you? Then I saw the Roald Dahl tag. Then I was back to What the Fiery Flamingo is that. Thanks for putting it all together. Now it makes sense. As much as Wes Anderson doing Roald Dahl can.

 

[Hannah F]

I don't have netflix, but I do love a bit of Roald Dahl. Short stories are still a hard sell unless you're already published, but getting a short story into a well known anthology or magazine is a good road in because it gives you networking opportunity.

 

[MattScho]

I've seen PJ's post on Tor's short story offerings, and we've heard anecdotes about shorter works being in vogue. It used to be that writer's could make a decent living just with short stories. Thurber was a classic example of that. But in the 90s, at the newspaper I was working at, we had a meeting with Bob Eisner (Disney had just bought us because we owned the ABC Television Network in the US), and a great journo in Philly wrote a newspaper piece called "Blackhawk Down" and then followed that up with "Killing Pablo" while other guys came out with magazine pieces called "Into the Wild" and "Into thin Air" and "A perfect storm" and all of a sudden in narrative non-fiction journalism, everyone was obsessed with after-market value, how much would the writer retain, etc. My stuff sold on, and I made a tidy bit, but nothing like those guys.
Still, I'm wondering with the hunger for content at streaming services if we're not about to see a feeding frenzy on short stories?

 

[RK Wallis]

They're posting stuff every couple of days right now. What they're posting are based on short stories, and they've been between 17 and 35 minutes long. The casting is amazing (Patel, Cumberbatch, Fiennes, Kingsley, etc) but they would be because Wes Anderson seems to be making them all (as you can tell at a single glance).
But more importantly, to us, I think, is the way Anderson is putting Dahl's written words on screen. He's showing the actors telling us the story.
It's not show or tell, it's both.
It's fascinating because these are his short stories, which are 1. amazing and 2 very much not at all for kids and often quite naughty.
I'm enjoying these, having watched the first 3, not the other two now up.
I am left wondering if this isn't a sign of a rebirth of the power and commercial appeal of the short story, because it's working, and short-stories stopped paying living wages not long after the end of the days of Harold Ross at the New Yorker.
Anyone else watching and thinking about these?

I'll check it out

 

[Pamela Jo]

I have two friends published because of their inclusions in anthologies. It is indeed a great way to network. What has been missing is that training ground of short stories that magazines used to provide for new writers. It is something that could return with self-publishing. They do suit the market. Readers will read something longer if they know it will be worthwhile. The trick has been to get them to trust it is worthwhile with so much available.

 

[Serra K]

I'm all for short stories. It's hard to find a good movie these days.

 

[Vagabond Heart]

So, I spotted there was a new thing by Wes Anderson (who I love) and was saving it for when I had the time. Not realising it was Roald Dahl, of course, until I read your post.
Just watched the first and am absolutely enchanted. What a wonderful way of combining the greatness of writer, director, and the actors.

 

[RK Wallis]

Found them